Government takes firm step for highway construction! Contractors failing to execute projects to be barred

In an attempt to bring transparency and to improve pace of implementation of road projects, Government has come up with a new plan! From now, road contractors who fail to complete any work costing more than Rs 300 crore even three months after the set deadline, will be barred by the government from bidding for new highway projects either as a sole contractor or as a partner of any joint venture. Moreover, road contractors would be allowed to bid only after completing the outstanding work. This is applicable only for fully government-funded highway works, which are known as EPC contracts.

In a bid to differentiate between good and bad road contractors, Road Transport and Highways Ministry has changed the norms based on their pace of execution of works. The change in the norms have come into effect from November 20, 2018 and is applicable only for future road projects. According to the new conditions set up by the government, for carrying out the construction work, the road owning agency such as NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) or PWD (Public Works Department) will have to provide land as well as other required clearances.

At present, road contractors add work to their order book even as they fail to execute already bagged projects. This has been a major challenge for the government when it comes to increasing the pace of highway building. According to an official from Road Transport and Highways Ministry, in several cases, highway builders have taken more work than what they can actually deliver on time. Therefore, this needs to be streamlined, also to encourage other road contractors who have performed well. Moreover, with delay in the implementation, project cost goes up and causes inconvenience to commuters.